Ornn, the Chosen One, a treasure from ancient times!

Chapter 125 Marching into Fort Worth

"Those Noxians are complete cowards!"

"Sigh—we've been here for so long, when are they going to attack? My sword is itching for a fight."

Inside the Digwo defense line, several warriors of the Winter's Claw were idly chatting.

They arrived here full of anticipation for a thrilling battle, but the guy opposite them, known as the Hand of Noxus, despite his intimidating name, remained completely silent, offering no provocation whatsoever.

They hid in the fortress of Juvo, their banners visible only from afar below the mountain.

"What are you doing?!"

At that moment, a loud shout rang out, and the soldiers who had been languid just moments before instantly straightened up as if by conditioned reflex, standing as straight as pine trees, their eyes fixed straight ahead.

Sure enough, the one walking towards them was Tedamir, who routinely patrolled the military camp.

The rules of the Direwall are extremely strict, thanks to the almost demanding requirements of Garen, the future fearless vanguard elite, and the tacit cooperation of Commander Tryndamere, who is also impartial and incorruptible.

He didn't have any personal matters to his name; he wasn't originally a member of the Winter's Claws.

But precisely because of this, Tryndamere was also afraid of messing up such an important defensive line in his hands, so he took it extremely seriously, starting to patrol the camp before dawn every day to supervise training and defense, and not returning until dark.

However, the soldiers didn't become unruly because Tryndamere was an outsider, because Tryndamere was simply too strong.

With just a wooden stick, he beat several soldiers who thought they were well-trained until they cried for their parents and were bedridden for days, just like a strong man toying with a child.

He was, after all, a man of humble origins, and he didn't care about non-combat casualties.

The Winter's Claw warriors, who revere the supremacy of strength, hold Tryndamere in the highest esteem.

They were caught red-handed this time for slacking off, and they were prepared to be punished.

But this time, Tryndamere did not punish them.

"Gather everyone together, grab your weapons, and be ready to receive orders at any time."

The soldiers were stunned for a moment, then overjoyed, and hurriedly helped each other put on their armor.

After giving his instructions, Tryndamere went into the main tent, where Garen was alone, studying the terrain near Direwall Fortress and planning its layout.

"What are your thoughts on the demands regarding the war mother?"

"I think it makes perfect sense—the Wall of Winter is already largely in place, and the pressure there has lessened, so Fort Diver is a thorn in our side."

Garen had no idea when he would use the word "we" in front of the Winter's Claws; he probably didn't even realize it himself.

Originally, the Winter's Claws' defenses were evenly spaced on both sides, but in Harren's plan, the Winter's Wall would be the main battlefield, where they could rely on the terrain and fortifications for defense.

With the construction of the Winter's Wall progressing, Digvor Fortress has become increasingly important—if they capture Digvor Fortress, they will only need a small number of people to garrison the highlands, while deploying the vast majority of their forces to the front.

Even with the Winter Wall completed, Noxians will still be unable to free up their forces once Fortress is in Noxus hands.

This is extremely devastating for Winter's Claw, which is already facing a severe manpower shortage.

"Moreover, the War Mother means that we should wait for an opportunity to act, right? My opinion is that we can avoid fighting Darius for now and instead take some men to provoke him—if they retreat, that would be best; if they don't, at least we can put some pressure on them and buy time for the completion of the Wall."

"Um."

The taciturn Tryndamere simply nodded without expressing any opinion.

"However—in my opinion, that guy won't back down, so we still need to make more preparations."

"Do you know Darius?"

"I wouldn't say I know him well, but someone who's called the Hand of Noxus is definitely not a coward—"

Garen, a Demacian, knows all too well the weight of the title "Hand of Noxus."

The previous Hand of Noxus, Sion, braved a heavy encirclement and countless swords and spears, and under the protection of numerous guards, he managed to reach Jarvan I and strangle him to death before finally succumbing to exhaustion.

This is a deeply humiliating defeat for the Demacians, but also a valuable lesson—never underestimate the Hand of Noxus.

"I'll be careful—you can join the battle if it's defense, but I'll handle the offense myself."

"Hmm—Peace, brother."

Later, in the afternoon, when the sun was no longer so warm, a small number of men were left to defend the camp under Garen's command, while the rest of the hundreds of men left the Juvoro defenses and, led by Tryndamere, marched in a grand manner toward Juvoro Fortress on the mountain.

The attacks by supernatural forces are gradually brewing within Noxus.

Many people finally recalled Swain's impassioned appeals before the war—Ionia is a sleeping lion.

-

Many of Noxus's older residents couldn't help but recall the Empire's setback in Shurima years ago—

To stabilize morale, Noxus completely unleashed its looting, partly to break down the Ionian will to resist through more brutal killings, and partly to allow soldiers under immense psychological pressure to vent their frustrations and stop thinking about supernatural or superstitious things.

Some of the excessively "cowardly" soldiers were either repatriated to their home countries for trial or would serve as the vanguard suicide squad; none of them were allowed to receive medical treatment.

Noxus does not tolerate cowards.

But in stark contrast to the turmoil on the front lines, the Immortal Fortress was in a completely different state.

Most Noxian soldiers believed the war was for the Empire's great conquest, but few knew that it was entirely driven by their Emperor's personal desires.

Immortality is what countless people who have reached the pinnacle of power ultimately pursue—Darkwell is no exception.

Therefore, he turned his attention to that land of primordial origin, which is known as the source of magic.

After hearing about the many strange things happening at the front, Darkwell was not worried at all; on the contrary, he became even more excited.

Isn't this exactly what he wanted? Mysterious magical power, the divine power of immortality—

This further fueled his confidence; at this moment, he truly believed that he could find the way to immortality on the land of Ionia.

Soon, the order from the Immortal Bastion was issued to the front lines and sent to Middarda Ambesa, who was under the command of the Southern Shurima Military District.

She has just departed from the port of Shurima, passing through Piltover, claiming to be acquiring "new weapons."

Next, her original plan was to rush to the aid of the main battlefield in Presidium.

But Darkwell demanded that she change her plans, turn around and land in the south to seize the sacred site of Ionia—Omecaiaran.

This would be an incomprehensible order for any officer, but not for the Middarda family.

Because Shurima was more remote than the rest of the country, Darkwill entrusted it entirely to the Middarda family.

Therefore, the Middarda family became the top warlords of Noxus, and Ambezar was effectively the local tyrant of Shurima.

For this reason, Ambeza is willing to unconditionally support Darkwell's rule.

So Ambissa didn't give it much thought. The moment she received the order, her fleet set sail from Piltover for southern Ionia.